Adelheid in the SCA

I recently got a språng frame, which has made it easier to throw on simple test warps. This has meant it's easier to practice new techniques, such as the 2-2 interlace. So it's time to make my second project. This time, a very achievable pouch. I also practiced, successfully, weaving very close to the middle by using needles. You can see where I missed one, but that was fixed when I used a thread to gather it. My thumb is at the bottom of the center row, so I'm pretty pleased with the result. It also marks the misplaced thread. I gathered the bottom, and then put another thread through the loops like a drawstring.  Final step was to sew up the sides with the string I used to gather the middle with. And voila! My first respectable pouch.

I practiced a new-to-me technique yesterday called 2-2 interlace. The resulting fabric resembles woven twill. I used a couple contrasting colours to help me visualize the technique and what is happening to the threads. Here's the result: Off the frame, no backlight: Off the frame, with backlight: Zooming in, you can see that each thread is crossing two, creating that twill-like structure. I'm also practicing using needles for the last couple of difficult rows, and tonight will make a shorter, wider warp and make my first little bag.

I recently came across the Murerplan, a very beautiful map of the city of Zurich in 1576. Although Adelheid is just slightly before this time, it still gives an amazing resource to see into her world. You can view the wikipedia article and see the map by clicking this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murerplan One of the interesting things Neil and I saw were the series of mills on the Limmat river. Not all were annotated, but the papermills on the far left hand side were. This led into one of the wonderful rabbitholes the SCA is known for. By the end of the evening, we had learned that papermaking was established in Europe from the late 1400s, absolutely on the heels of the Gutenberg bible. We found a Swiss museum in Basel that has preserved the art of papermaking, which was from linen fabric. There was a 4 part series in book making in Switzerland we read, and enjoyed many videos.  Today, I found this article which describes the process, which is now on the "to-do"